Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba says Zambia and Kenya have a huge potential to further strengthen their existing cordial relations.

Mr. Kalaba says windows of opportunities already exist in various areas of cooperation which include tourism and mining where the two countries could learn from each other to maximise bilateral benefits.

ZANIS staffer Cecilia Banda reports from Nairobi that Mr. Kalaba was speaking in an interview soon after he arrived in Nairobi-Kenya last night.

He said the bilateral talks between the two Foreign Ministers was a follow-up to the talks held between President Edgar Lungu and President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta when the two Heads of States met on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa in January this year.

President Lungu and President Kenyatta raised issues of enhancing mutual relations between their two countries.

During the two President’s meeting, the two Foreign Ministers were tasked to explore further the areas of strengthening cooperation and also to discuss the Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation (JPCC) between the two countries which was last held in Lusaka in 2012.

“Zambia and Kenya are both keen to relate to each other because trading among ourselves has much higher benefits and we therefore want to take advantage of this corridor of trade,” Mr. Kalaba said.

Mr. Kalaba noted that Zambia can learn a lot from Kenya in terms of enhancing its tourism potential while the east African country stands to benefit from Zambia’s vast mining experience.

The two Foreign Ministers will also discuss preparations for the pending state visit of President Uhuru Kenyatta to Zambia scheduled for July this year.